 Tagline: Live or die. Make your choice. Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer abducts the morally wayward. Once captured, they must face impossible choices in a horrific game of survival. The victims must struggle to win back his or her life, or else die trying... Storyline: After waking up in a tiny cell, two men find themselves victim of a serial killer who plays games with his victims and gives them one last chance to survive. If they wish to live, they each have to play their own game as the killer has told them on an audio script. As the film goes on, connections between the victims and the true identity of the never-showed-up killer are revealed. Written by J. S. Golden Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, January 18, 2008 -- How much blood will you shed to stay alive? With the release of Saw IV on Blu-ray, I figured this to be as good a time as any to review the entire franchise. The Saw series continues in a long line of horror predecessors that have spawned numerous sequels such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Even lesser known and lesser quality horror films, such as Leprechaun and Child's Play, engender numerous copycats and sequels. In many instances the old adage that says if you've seen one of them you've seen them all holds true. I'm not sure it will for the Saw series. I've seen the first film several times, and it's a solid picture, but then again so were the first movies in most of the franchises listed above. I'm eager to see if the writers of the Saw sequels can keep the material fresh, because if Saw has anything going for it, it is the movie's unquestionable originality. Of course, originality alone isn't enough to save a movie. While Saw is infinitely watchable, it's far from great cinema. It doesn't pretend to be, and it doesn't need to be, because it succeeds at accomplishing its goal of scaring audiences and churning their stomachs. As the movie begins, two men awaken to find themselves chained to rusty pipes on opposite ends of a filthy restroom. A dead body lies between them, a tape recorder in one hand and a revolver in the other. Neither man can reach the body, but devise a plan to obtain the tape recorder when each of them finds a micro cassette in their pockets. The tape instructs one of the captives, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes, Bram Stoker's Dracula) to kill the other prisoner, Adam (Leigh Whannell, The Matrix Reloaded), or the mysterious voice on the tape will kill Dr. Gordon's wife and daughter. As the two men discover more clues about why they are there, who their captor is, and attempt to escape, a police detective (Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon 2) hot on the case gets too close to the killer, is nearly murdered, and vows revenge on the killer. As time runs out, Dr. Gordon must sacrifice Adam, his family, or maybe himself to resolve the situation before everyone dies. I am not a fan of the new wave of torture horror (a genre this film has influenced greatly), and I am hoping that the remainder of the Saw movies stay true to this film as more of a psychological horror film rather than a gross out, slice 'em up horror film. There are copious amounts of blood on screen but actual visible graphic and brutal violence takes a back seat to the imagination (for the most part) which is the way it should be in a film such as this one. As I mentioned earlier, the best thing Saw has going for it is the originality of the story. A horror film that is not about a slasher is infinitely refreshing. The setting of the film aids the story more than almost any other plot device in the movie. The dank, filthy restroom represents ultimate despair and hopelessness. The acting from Elwes and Whannell is about as good as one can expect from a low budget horror film (Saw was reportedly made for about a million dollars) and the direction and script writing proved solid as well. The movie is clever with an excellent plot twist at the end of the film. While Saw does not redefine the genre like Halloween did, it certainly takes it in a new direction, one that is already being copied ad nauseam for a quick buck. I have little doubt that the next three films in the series lack in originality and recycle stale ideas from this and other horror films, but I really hope they prove me wrong. Saw represents a turning point for the horror genre. Even though it's not in the same vein as films like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes and Hostel, it has reinvigorated the mass produced horror movie niche. The franchise spawns a new sequel every Halloween and moviegoers continue to eat them up. Saw is one of the better horror films in recent memory if only because it is more of a thriller with horror overtones. As a fan of horror but not the current generation of horror, Saw represents for me a hope that horror films can once again become smart, clever, and engaging pictures that scare but don't make half the audience run for the restroom. We'll see what the sequels bring. I'm hoping for the best and fearing the worst. As a Blu-ray disc, Saw disappoints. It offers an average at best image, slightly above average audio, and zero supplements. This disc is recommended only for hardcore Saw fans who don't already own this film on DVD. I think any horror fan that has yet to see Saw needs to see it, but this particular edition just isn't worth owning for the casual horror or Saw fan. Cast Notes: Leigh Whannell (Adam), Cary Elwes (Dr. Lawrence Gordon), Danny Glover (Detective David Tapp), Ken Leung (Detective Steven Sing), Dina Meyer (Kerry), Mike Butters (Paul), Paul Gutrecht (Mark), Michael Emerson (Zep Hindle), Benito Martinez (Brett), Shawnee Smith (Amanda), Makenzie Vega (Diana Gordon), Monica Potter (Alison Gordon), Ned Bellamy (Jeff), Alexandra Bokyun Chun (Carla [as Alexandra Chun]), Avner Garbi (Father). IMDb Rating (04/05/15): 7.7/10 from 260,611 users
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
